Comparison of Chernobyl before and after the disaster

Chernobyl before and after the disaster

The accident is regarded as the largest in its kind in the history of nuclear energy, both in terms of the estimated number of people killed and affected by its consequences, and economic damage. During the first three months after the accident, 31 people died; the long-term consequences of radiation exposure, revealed over the next 15 years, caused the death of 60 to 80 people. 134 people suffered radiation sickness of one degree or another. More than 115 thousand people from the 30-kilometer zone were evacuated.

Chernobyl before and after the disaster

Chernobyl before and after the disaster in the center.

Polissya Hotel in Pripyat before and after the Chernobyl accident

Chernobyl before and after the disaster

In the post office.

Unlike the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the explosion resembled a very powerful “dirty bomb” – the main killer was radioactive contamination.

The cloud formed from the burning reactor carried various radioactive materials, primarily radionuclides of iodine and cesium, for the most part in Europe. The largest fallout was recorded in significant areas in the Soviet Union located near the reactor and now referring to the territories of the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine

Chernobyl before and after the disaster

Chernobyl, Pripyat in the center.

The Chernobyl accident was an event of great social and political importance for the USSR. All this left a certain imprint on the investigation of its causes. The approach to interpreting the facts and circumstances of the accident has changed over time, and there is still no unanimous opinion until now.